Reversal of fortunes for West Chester

EAST STROUDSBURG – There was quite a bit of nostalgia going on Saturday afternoon in the Poconos, but it certainly wasn’t the kind anybody on the West Chester sideline wanted to relive.

Looking much more like the sub-.500 teams of 2010 and 2011 than the 24th ranked team in the nation, all of head coach Bill Zwaan’s worst fears were realized when his Golden Rams showed up totally flat and proceeding to drop a 35-28 decision to lightly regarded East Stroudsburg in PSAC East action. Just one week after shocking No. 6 California (Pa.) for the program’s biggest triumph in years, WCU turned the ball over five times, was outgained by nearly 200 yards and appeared totally listless and disinterested until the final seven minutes of action.

“We had a terrible, terrible effort,” Zwaan complained. “It didn’t even look like we were here in the first half. There were so many turnovers and just bad football plays that we hadn’t had in the past few games. It all cropped back up again.

“I am really disappointed.”

To make matters even worse, the Rams (4-2 overall) overcame a two touchdown deficit down the stretch to tie it, only to surrender the game-winner with five seconds on the clock. It was West Chester’s first Division II setback of the season, and its first in three tries against a division foe.

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“We weren’t prepared,” acknowledged senior offensive tackle Eric Pratt. “We were sluggish. Once we realized what we had to do in the fourth quarter, we picked it up, but it was too little, too late.”

“I don’t want to say we overlooked (ESU) but it looks like we did.”

Outscored 28-7 to fall behind by two touchdowns well into the final quarter, the Rams appeared dead in the water until a muffed punt by ESU true freshman Tim Wilson gave them new life. Rondell White scored on the next play, and then WCU capped off a 77-yard drive on its next possession with a scoring toss from quarterback Mike Mattei to wideout Erick Brundidge with 1:10 remaining to knot the score, 28-28.

But with freshman quarterback Matt Soltes completing all five passes he threw, the Warriors (2-1, 3-2) marched 68 yards in just 61 seconds. And it was Wilson who went the final 33 yards, catching a short pass and juking past West Chester defenders Brandon Pepper -- who was in for the injured Carl Barnes -- and Nate Pagan, who had replaced a benched Bob Sabol.

“If we would have pulled it out, it would have been great for our season, but we didn’t play well enough to deserve it,” Zwaan said. “We have to learn how important every single game and every single practice really is. If anything positive comes out of this game, I hope we learn that.”

It was a tough day for Mattei and White, who were the stars during the Rams four-game winning streak. Mattei threw three picks in the first half alone, matching his season total covering the nine previous halves of football. And White coughed the ball up twice and managed a season-low 51 rushing yards.

“I really don’t know the reason we came out flat, but we simply can’t let that happen no matter who we are playing,” said receiver Sean Beahan, who led the way with five catches for 129 yards and a score.

“It was our third road game in a row, but there are no excuses. This one is tough to swallow. We felt like we were the better team, but we made too many mistakes. ”

As poorly as WCU played in the first half, the Warriors didn’t take the lead until late in the third quarter, when the Rams contributed to a 14-play series by committing costly penalties that resulting in two ESU first downs. Moments later, White’s second fumble led the way for another touchdown, setting the stage for Wilson’s blunder and then his heroics.

“This one hurts but we’ll come back,” Pratt vowed.

“We may have been a little flat and it’s pretty disappointing, but we still have the rest of the season to play,” agreed safety Shawn Krautzel.

It was a thoroughly discouraging start even as WCU dodged numerous bullets in the opening nine minutes of play, including two turnovers and another close call. ESU missed a field goal following the first Mattei interception, and another Mattei pick was negated by a penalty. But on the next play, White coughed up the football deep in WCU territory.

The defense came to the rescue thanks to a Krautzel interception, and the offense finally got it together, briefly, going 85 yards with White finishing it off on a short run, his first of two on the day. The rest of the half wasn’t any better, however, as the Warriors pushed two into the end zone, including one with less than a minute left before halftime following yet another Mattei interception.

It was 14-14 at the break thanks to a flea-flicker that covered 73-yards from Mattei to Beahan, but it could have been worse as East Stroudsburg actually misfired on two makeable field goal attempts.

“It was nice that we kind of came back to try to make it a game, but the truth is we got outplayed,” Zwaan admitted. “We did not have a great approach, we got out-coached, the game-plan was terrible on offense … it was just bad all the way around.

“I really thought our intensity level was terrible in the first half. We were just walking through the game.”

Thanks largely to a 5-to-2 edge in turnovers, the Warriors had a 25-minute plus edge in time of possession. But ESU also controlled the line of scrimmage, rolling up 508 yards of total offense and outrushing West Chester 142-57.

“It’s on the offense,” Beahan said. “We weren’t sustaining drives and that tires out the defense.”

NOTES: The team’s No. 2 tackler, linebacker Mike Labor (ankle), and starting wideout LaRonn Lee (shoulder) did not suit up on Saturday due to injuries … Backup linebacker Drew Persa, who grew up in nearby Bethlehem, suffered a right knee injury in the second quarter and had to be carried off the field … “We are really, really banged up and having bad luck with injuries, but that’s no excuse,” Zwaan said.